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Hi All, I am about to have salary discussion for an opportunity with Credit Suisse. Can you please let me know what is the max salary that can be offered to 11 YOE Java developer joining in AVP position? Do they offer VP position to 11 YOE by any chance? Also how is the current situation within CS considering all the financial turmoil and layoff news? Will it be a wise decision to move to CS from Barclays at this point of time?
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What’s the vibe at baker mckenzie?
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Gunderson is investor side more often. Cooley is the largest and is 80% company side. Massive exposure to company’s that could potentially hire you.
Also, the culture is real and it’s busy but I feel like partners actually care about you not burning out.
#1 in pitchbook for representing companies in financings in US and globally.
Would not target Orrick really. I don’t view them as a true peer competitor in this space. I know they are active, but we’re rarely across them. Always across Goodwin, Fenwick, Gunderson.
Cooley NYC has a large EC/VC practice as well. It’s probably the biggest in NYC, along with Gunderson. Fenwick just opened their NY office a few years ago and have not heard great things about it.
Based on working across from the firms and having friends at each of them, Cooley has to top the list by a long shot no matter the metric. The client list appears to be the biggest, the culture is noticeably better than the rest, and the brand is the strongest. Really don't think anyone other than someone at one of the other three firms named would say otherwise. Gunderson is great for investor side, but contrary to what others on here have said, I think Fenwick is a much better option than Gunderson. Orrick is good too, and the culture is great. I don't think they are as focused on being at the top of all rankings, but they are certainly
I'll add that Gunderson is heavily monocultural, so if you're a minority that might be something to consider.
If you're concerned more about brand, I would put Wilson #2. Culture at Wilson isn't bad, but is heavily dependent on which subgroup you get plugged into.
I work at GD NY and agree we have a very distinct culture. That said, I love it. We heavily recruit to carefully protect the culture, which is very team oriented. Some lateral associates seem to struggle when they’re accustomed to very hierarchical firms (like here a very senior associate or partner may send out at DocuSign, or not necessarily staff a junior on everything). It’s hard to put my finger on what makes someone thrive in our firm versus folks who don’t, but the laterals who I’ve seen struggle (all usually on the junior side of things) came here (1) expecting it to be lax hours and chill lifestyle—conflating great culture for lifestyle hours, which isn’t the case and (2) ultimately missing the hierarchy of old school big law because it’s very hard to hide here from work or crappy work product
Gunderson might have the truest EC VC practice (i.e., almost no public companies).
Gunderson is the most brand name, like an Apple over an Android.
Now I feel like a dope 🤣
Many associates leave to go in house and keep great relationships with the firm. I’m very happy with the culture here and the people I work with. Located in NY although still remote due to Covid.
You should be fine at either Gunderson or Cooley. Does anyone at Cooley NY want to compare notes? Are ya’ll happy with the work/life balance, collegial colleagues (or not), etc.? TIA
I’m happy. Less than a year in though.
Recruiter here. I've worked VC and startup in-house jobs in NY. Gunderson is best regarded in NY by in-house, Cooley is probably second. Fenwick is growing, but a lot of their clients are still West Coast. Orrick is. All three of those though are pretty close though. Orrick is a step behind the others in NY.
Thank you. Very insightful. However I heard that Cooley NY is largely capital markets focused and the EC/VC work (including company-side) tends to be focused out of the west coast offices. Any further input would be greatly appreciated.
Gunderson over the others for NY. True that Cooley has the overall strong presence doing both big mergers and representing solid clients on ECVC but in NY, many associates that lateraled to Cooley find themselves being attached to capital markets work, including the specialists like tech and privacy folks (ie doing diligence). They’re still happier at cooley due to culture but I’d say it’s an easy pick for Gunderson
So, confirmed that having a pure ECVC practice at Cooley NY isn't a guarantee (for a number of reasons). One reason, the M&A and Capital Markets groups are far busier so it's a lot easier to get hours in those areas. So in that sense, Gunderson is more of a pure play ECVC player in each of the jurisdictions in which it has an office, including NY. Not even sure what kind of presence Gunderson has (if any) outside of ECVC and related work (e.g. fund formation, tax, TTG, etc.)
Also, I don't think more M&A and cap markets work requires a change in culture. The kind of deals you work on will of course affect timelines, but it doesn't have to translate into a more aggressive or micromanaging culture.
Wut about Sonsini?
Thank you
Cooley 💯 in NYC
Let me know if you’re interested in Goodwin as well, we do a ton of company side ECVC work and I love who I work with